Minnesota Wild's Eric Staal (12) falls while going for the puck against Vancouver Canucks Alexander Edler (23) in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Vancouver Canucks Ben Hutton (27) controls the puck in front of Minnesota Wild's Mikael Granlund (64) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Minnesota Wild's Eric Staal (12) fights for possession of the puck against Vancouver Canucks Jake Virtanen (18) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Minnesota Wild's Charlie Coyle (3) and Vancouver Canucks Sam Gagner (89) go after the puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Minnesota Wild's Nate Prosser (39) and Vancouver Canucks Nic Dowd (17) shove each other in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Minnesota Wild's Eric Staal (12) controls the puck against Vancouver Canucks Brock Boeser (6) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. Vancouver won in overtime 3-2. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Minnesota Wild's Mikael Granlund (64) controls the puck against Vancouver Canucks Brock Boeser (6) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. Vancouver won in overtime 3-2. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) blocks the shot of Minnesota Wild's Jason Zucker (16) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. Vancouver won in overtime 3-2. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Vancouver Canucks Sven Baertschi (47) lines a shot against Minnesota Wild's Jonas Brodin (25) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. Vancouver won in overtime 3-2. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Vancouver Canucks Thomas Vanek (26) reacts with teammate Brock Boeser (6) after Vanek scored a goal to tie the game in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. Vancouver won in overtime 3-2. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) is surrounded and congratulated by teammates after the team's 3-2 overtime win in an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs)

With the lower bowl at Xcel Energy Center less than half full on Sunday — thousands of fans were still huddled around TVs in the concourse, watching the final moments of the Vikings’ playoff game against the Saints — the Wild and Canucks took the ice for a game that felt rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Then? Madness.

As anthem signer John deCausmeaker hit the final notes of “O Canada” minutes before the game, a roar bellowed throughout the arena, as Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs hauled in a pass from Case Keenum and raced 61 yards into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown on the final play of regulation.

“Touchdown!” radio announcer Paul Allen screamed over the air waves. “Are you kidding me?! It’s a Minneapolis miracle!”

As for the Wild, winger Zach Parise said the last thing players saw before leaving the locker room pregame was the Vikings receiving the kickoff with 25 seconds to go after the Saints took a 24-23 lead.

“You’re immediately thinking that it was over,” said Parise, a native Minnesotan. “Then we heard that. That was pretty cool. You kind of assumed that there was a big play that was made.”

“I knew it had to be something like a win because it was so loud,” added defenseman Nate Prosser, who’s also a native Minnesotan. “It was probably the loudest this building has gotten. You could feel it. … We all kind of knew.”

As for those across the river in St. Paul who missed the play, or maybe simple couldn’t believe their eyes, the jumbotron showed the play seconds before puck drop.

In that moment, nearly every Wild player glued their eyes to the screen.

“I was just as excited as everyone else,” goaltender Devan Dubnyk said. “You always kind of wonder what it is that happened. It certainly sounded loud enough to be a good thing. You’re kind of itching to go over to the bench and figure out what happened. Then they threw it up there before the game started. It was pretty exciting.”

The rest of the night had a rather weird feel to it.

Yes, they still played a game, and the Wild lost 3-2 to the Canucks in overtime with fans seemingly worn out from the the euphoria they had experienced before the game even started.

As far as decibels levels go, Jason Zucker gave the Wild the lead early in the first period, and Loui Eriksson tied the game for the Canucks about 12 minutes later. Yet one of the loudest cheers came when a fan started a “Skol!” chant that spread like wildfire throughout the stands.

Heck, Parise even sported an “NFC North Champs” hat for his on-camera interview during the second intermission.

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